Curran

Yes, that would be nice. I do have some pics. Waking up too early on a cold day, I thought on it in the morning silence of 4:30am. Conclusion: It would be like engaging in one of the political discussions in the Izakaya section. I don't have Darcy's love for Roman Rhetoric forums poking holes in logic constructs. Those days, and Darcy, are past. I simply disagree with Glen and voiced it. I'll leave it at that. Constructing a Darcy'esque rebuttal would take far more time than I currently have, and I probably couldn't do it at Darcy's level. Looking at sukashi openings, especially under magnification, is useful for a lot of reasons- including age dating. No, I don't think it should be a lead indicator. It just should be part of the process. Do it on several hundred thousand tsuba, like Bob Haynes, and you might respect his opinion or that of Torigoye-san. Bye.

As Tom said.

It isn't the degree of rusting. It is more complicated = a mix of several things including the type of rust, how it has evolved, and the iron/patina interplay. While most anything can be faked, the insides of the sukashi walls is something very important to study and can help a lot. As to that second bit about sukashi tsuba as early as the middle of the Muromachi... They are rare and crude, but you find them as far back as mid to late Nambokuchu. I have one from Ito-san+NBTHK that is supposedly late Nambokuchu, but I would date it circa Oei 1394-1420.

Thanks for the words guys. Perhaps a mistake to list it near the Holidays. Likely that I pull this at the end of the week. I thought it would be difficult to price out, but luck has Aoi Arts putting up a kinko Nishigaki by roughly the same artist (+/- 1 generation) 350,000 yen. https://www.aoijapan...ubetsu-hozon-tosogu/ The design is more flashy accessible, but the Higo papers are meeehhh..... With TH to Nishigaki, I probably would have priced the Aoi Arts one at 250,000-300,000. It has been 10 years since I closed my dealer website, but maybe it is time to go back to hanging out a shingle. I'm sorry to see the NMB sales section die out.

Another pic. Kinda testing if NMB is still a venue for sales. I thought this one would pop off fast, as it is deeply underpriced for a kinko Nishigaki . Age is circa 1725-1775 AD. I'll guarantee it for Hozon. Serious parties can PM me about it. Otherwise, I guess I will have to paper it myself and list it on a dealer site for $1500 in a year. Time value is worth a lot to me, so please really look at this one and go price out kinko Nishigaki works on the market.

and another.

More pics.

Dragon motif [Higo] Nishigaki tsuba - [katana sized]. $575 + shipping from USA. 7.7cm x 7cm x 5mm (curvature down to 4.3mm at seppa dai). Kinko- brownish shibuichi or similar, with high luster. Etched to show the scales, body, and face of a dragon. It changes color from brown to black depending upon the light that it is in. Fundraising for a large nihonto/tosogu purchase over the next few months, so am pricing what I would say are Tokubetsu Hozon level pieces to move. Hope to list at least 1 a month. These are all better pieces from my own stash. Please give the pics a look.

That is a very nice koshirae. I know a few people who would covet it. Beautiful tsuka. Great higher grade seppas.

Glad you said it first. He probably meant pre-Momoyama, and I was trying to remember if I had ever seen anything signed pre-Momoyama that wasn't Ko-Goto.

Yes, the one from the 2005 exhibit is mine. Nice write-up by Jim. Much of my introduction to Yagyu was from him. He had a great Norisuke that illustrated the intense filo dough layers seen in the Norisuke copies.

Depending upon what source you read, there is a lot of conjecture as to how they were finished. You read things like that some where put in sand barrels and pounded before finishing. I don't really have an opinion on that. I just like some Yagyu designs. Attached is an image of one of the earlier Yagyu have this sort of filo dough layer to the mimi. Something that strongly says Yagyu when you see it, or possibly a Norisuke copy. Norisuke copies tend to have like 2x the number of layers, so they kinda out themselves as excellent copies.

These are the 4 NBTHK papered Yagyu that I have owned. While you might find one or two in the design books, defining a Yagyu tsuba is a more a mixture of the design+materials+execution. Each of these tsuba has a relatively solid meaning behind the design. Each has the sandy grey grit iron that is associated with Yagyu construction. Each has the squared off mimi. Some have the filo dough layers evident on the mimi, but some do not. Just remember that a lot of Yagyu are not in the design books. Don't get fixated on something from the design books. More over, a lot of other schools copied the ones in the design books. You will have a lot of tsuba that are or Yagyu design, but tick none of the other boxes of what is considered Yagyu. Repeating myself from above: Defining "Yagyu" often comes down to the materials+the design+execution (the geometry, etc.)

The Aoi Arts one is kodai Yagyu-- at best. I have a much better one with old green papers, that is borderline 2nd period Yagyu to early kodai (ie. late Edo) Yagyu. Condition is certainly better than the Aoi Arts one, and I would be glad to sell at that Aoi Arts price. Curran

I read your post while traveling, and couldn't post to NMB while on the road. The Tosa struck me as an exceptional example (I'm partial to the theme), and I am glad to hear both were recovered.

Thanks Paul. Sending a PM now.

This was my experience in the past. After the disaster of a Sept 20-22 ish sale in NYC right after 9/11, where they'd had some sort of guaranteed minimum price with the consignor.... they quit doing Japanese for quite a while. I forget who bought out Sothebys the other year.

It doesn't seem I have any photos of my Bell Owari. @Ed would like that one. I've been meaning to submit it to shinsa for a few years now, but I'm not so keen on shinsa time and opinions these days. To further encourage the love for Ono tsuba, I'm posting an old favorite Tokugawa mon Ono. It is one of those with narly woodknot shaped tottetsu along the mimi.

BOOK INFORMATION REQUEST: does anyone have a copy of "Kamiyoshi-tsuba ehon" or able to help me track down a copy? I mistakenly thought it a Kamiyoshi only book, not realizing it documents a lot of the Hayashi school. It appears I own two tsuba in the book, shown side by side on a page. It would also help in the study of the evolution of a certain design down the schools for 8 to 9 generations.

For a bokken.

I bid on that one. Quickly outbid by someone else.

A yari. Weight alone would make it wrong for an arrowhead. ...Or a very large arrow head for a bolt shot from a ballista. Don't know if the Japanese every had or used ballista, even in naval warfare. And why such a quality head on a ballista bolt? Therefore: A yari. __________________________________________________________________ Looks nicely made too. Grooves reduce the chance of suction. Easier to stick, unstick, and stick someone else.

There was a time that the best buys were found in the USA. Last few years, it seems the best buys are in Europe. Congrats. What is the size (in cm) including thickness (in mm)? And yes, straight up classic early to mid Edo Owari.

Hi Johnny, You should include the measurements. Sado Island tsuba are often robust nice tsuba akin to 3rd gen Akasaka. Given the mines and the shipping there, the iron is often harder and richer in a cold earthy way than Akasaka iron. Very distinct. They are outside the Pantheons of Higo, Owari, and Ko-Goto/Ko-Mino that interest me most, but they have a tactile appeal to them that is very pleasant to me. [edit: ah, I see that Haynes already mentioned the hefty circa third gen Akasaka aspect.]

SOLD